The Challenge
by newfish
Summary: same plotline and perhaps an alternative to the ending, writing in Tsukushi POV. TxT or maybe RxT. Reviews are appreciated :


Disclaimer: I do not own the plot Hana Yori Dango or any of the characters.

Ch1. Where Everything All Begins

It was the peak of my youth, yet it was also the worst moments of my life. I, Tsukushi, Makino am nothing short of an average 15 year old girl. My family is as common as any normal families are. We are united by the sense of surviving and making it through the tough world of greed and vanity. I'm not a complainer and never will be, and no matter how difficult life can be, I will always come through with a stronger sense of self. That is until the unfortunate incidents of my 2nd year in high school.

My mother was an ideal, common, and hard working housewife, but this does not mean she has no flaws. Like many others in the society, who regards status and prestige as the peak of the pyramid that all are inclineded to glorified; she can be vain.

It all started with me deciding that there is no harm in attending to an open orientation from the prestige private school of the district. A elegant and beautiful student started the introduction to the orientation, she was dignified, and strikingly strong person. Her speech moved many as she spoke and praised of all experiences and lesson she gained from the school. It was her speech and her presence that inspired the rough and hopeless me. In that moment, the thought of getting a public school education crumbled away as I became desperately wanting to be as valigant as the student was. And being the way my mother is, she supported the decision all the way. It was definitely economically exhausting for my family to allow me such option, but I was fueled by my inspiration to do so.

Quickly, I had become accquainted with the protocols of the school, made not by the authorities, but by the student themselves. The school was corrupted and biased to the wealthier families; hence discriminations between students and competition of wealth were common and obvious. It was this oppressive force of by wealthier students and lacks of control in regulation that often lead to continuous and proactive bullying. Hence, bullying has become an event that many students look forward in participating. To them, it was the excitement and morbid pleasure of seeing the sadistic twist of fate to a fellow member that made it all the more interesting. The more dramatic and extreme the bullying was, the more the collective whole thirst for it. It was like a bunch of salivating tigers waiting for their prey to stupidly stumble into their area. To makes matter worse, all of these horrid events began and are incited by the F4s, also known as the 4 wealthiest student of the school. Their only attractive attribute (as I can see) lies in their parent's wealth; hence, each member has their own principles that are vastly distorted and not at all aligned with morals and ethics of a lawful society.

The power of wealth is essentially insurmountable. What you can buy with money and the power you can get with it is almost infinite. And I am not dumb and gullible enough to not know that. So I hide. I hide to survive; I hide to live in peace. I hide my disgust and turn a blind eye to a pleading face. My hands were always itching to defend, but in the end, such futile attempts could only make matters worse and drag more people down than necessary. This was what I often told myself over and over again during my years in the school. The memory of the elegant student that I aspired to be, has long been pushed back into the back of my mind, as all I could do is spend a torturous time in class, waiting for it to end.

Then she came. My private solitude slowly saw a new light. Perhaps there was more to this high school life than I had originally thought there was going to be. She was a new transferred student, her curious eyes and friendly smile was something that was scarce in such a school. And I found myself warming to her quickly and gladly. It was comforting to at least have a friend than none at all.

And then 'it' happened.

Her nonchalance and unawareness of the commonality of this school should have alert more wariness and caution in me, but I was blinded by the happiness of a new found friendship. And so, in the urgency to get a friend out of the problem, I blindly pleaded with them, with _him; _Domyouji, Tsukasa.

This had incited shock and gasp, and then a ripple of silence had come over the hall, as everyone's attention was focused on Domyouji. The tension was high, as He slowly walked towards me. I was only able to stare at the ground as the consequences of my action dawn to me. He slowly circled me once, before passing me by with his friends. The crowd dispersed in uncontainable excitement and confusion, and my new friend rushed forward.

"T-tsukushi, are you okay? W-what's going to happen?"

I could only nodded in response as my wobbly legs gave way for the ground. It was from that day on that my nightmare begins.

-Please await the next chapter-


End file.
